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Saprina

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Saprina

Pronounced suh-PREE-nuh /səˈpriː.nə/High

Meaning: Saprina is a phonetic respelling of Sabrina, in which the b softens to a p on the page. Sabrina is the Latin name of the River Severn in Britain and, in legend retold by Geoffrey of Monmouth and later Milton, the name of a maiden-turned-river-goddess who drowned in it. The meaning a child inherits is that watery, legendary one.Medium

In 30 seconds: Saprina is an uncommon respelling of Sabrina, the legendary name of the goddess of Britain's River Severn. It saw brief 1970s use and stayed rare (said suh-PREE-nuh).

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Origin MediumCeltic, Latin

MeaningSaprina is a phonetic respelling of Sabrina, in which the b softens to a p on the page. Sabrina is the Latin name of the River Severn in Britain and, in legend retold by Geoffrey of Monmouth and later Milton, the name of a maiden-turned-river-goddess who drowned in it. The meaning a child inherits is that watery, legendary one.

U.S. rank (1996)#15387 ↘ Falling

1996 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1971

Total births (all-time)≈ 365

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Saprina is a spelling variant of Sabrina, a name with deep roots in British legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth recorded Sabrina as a princess drowned in the River Severn, whose Latin name was Sabrina; Milton later made her a gentle water-spirit in his masque Comus. As a given name Sabrina spread in the twentieth century, boosted by the 1954 film Sabrina. The Saprina spelling simply swaps the soft b for a p, keeping the three-beat sound intact.

As a spelling, Saprina barely registered. Only a few dozen girls a year received it around its early-1970s peak, and it had faded by the mid-1990s. A girl named Saprina then would be in her early fifties today, a tail-end baby-boom cohort. It reads as a personal respelling of a well-loved name rather than a distinct tradition, and Sabrina, not Saprina, is the form that has endured.

Did you know? Sabrina, the name behind Saprina, is one of the oldest river names in Britain: the Romans wrote the Severn as Sabrina, and a drowned princess of that name became its goddess in medieval legend.

Overall data confidence 55%

References - Saprina / Sabrina — Latin name of River Severn; legendary goddess; 1954 film revival

Variations

SabrinaSabreenaSabrenaSaprena

Nicknames

SabbyRina

Famous Bearers

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If you like Saprina…

Sabrina— the standard spelling Saprina is drawn from, same legend and sound

Katrina— another flowing three-beat -rina name of the same era

Marina— shares the watery meaning and soft -ina ending

Carina— a comparable melodic -rina name with vintage charm

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Saprina mean?

Saprina is a respelled form of Sabrina, from British legend for the goddess of the River Severn.

How do you pronounce Saprina?

It is said suh-PREE-nuh /səˈpriː.nə/ - three syllables, stress on the middle.

Is Saprina a boy or girl name?

Saprina is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Saprina?

Saprina has always been very rare, a brief respelling of the far more familiar Sabrina.